UUP Welcomes Crossmaglen Weapons And Ammunition Find

The Ulster Unionist Party has welcomed the recovery of a cache of weapons and ammunition following a PSNI operation in Crossmaglen.

UUP Councillor David Taylor said, "I want to offer my thanks to local police officers and their colleagues in the serious crime branch for their work in discovering a significant number of weapons and ammunition in Crossmaglen.

"The weapons recovered no doubt posed a considerable risk to life, and thankfully, a blow has been served to those involved in criminal activity in the area.

"It is certainly a welcome development that such a lethal arsenal has been neutralised as a result of the operation undertaken by the Police Service of Northern Ireland."

NI Teachers Miss Out On Announced Pay Increase

A failure to award teachers a fair pay rise is driving them out of the North and out of the profession, SDLP Education Spokesperson Daniel McCrossan has warned.

He was speaking after it was confirmed that teachers in England would receive a payrise, but those in the North would not.

Funding for the payrise in England is coming from existing Westminster budgets, with no Barnett consequential for a similar increase here.

West Tyrone MLA Mr McCrossan said: “The announcement that there will be no payrise for teachers here this year is the latest bitter blow for our dedicated staff who have been fighting for years to have their pay and working conditions addressed. Teachers in the North are by far the lowest paid on these islands and this increase will leave them lagging even further behind and highlights the unfairness that exists for staff here.

"It's hardly a surprise that many teachers in the North are considering moving to the South, Britian or further afield to obtain fair pay for the job they do, while I'm aware of others who are considering leaving the profession all together due to the strain of the job and the lack of a pay increase for nearly three years.

“Demands on our teaching and other educational staff are growing all the time as they try to stop an underfunded education system from falling apart at the seams. I stand fully behind staff who have been forced to take strike action to highlight the pay and working conditions they are expected to put up with in the face of an ever-increasing workload.

"The SDLP were the only party who promised an above inflation pay increase to teachers in our last Assembly manifesto. If we want to provide the best education for our children and young people then we need to invest in our schools and their staff. That's the message the SDLP Opposition will be carrying into any restored Assembly. We can't keep ignoring the situation facing staff and being surprised when they walk away from a situation where their wages remain stagnant as the cost of living increases all around them."

Alliance Condemn Those Behind Anti-Refugee Signs In Belvoir Estate

The Alliance Party has condemned signs erected in the Belvoir estate stating that refugees are no longer welcome.

South Belfast Alliance MLAs Kate Nicholl and Paula Bradshaw said that these signs are not representative of people in the area, and that they have been reported to the PSNI, the Department for Communities and the Housing Executive for immediate removal.

Kate Nicholl MLA said: "I am shocked by the erection of these signs and posters. They are designed only to divide communities and stir up fear. They create a chill factor for those living in the area and badly damage community relations.

"It is also important we don’t fall for the right-wing media narrative of pitting vulnerable people against one another. I work with refugees every single day and what they have endured is incomprehensible to most of us. They are people - just like anyone else - who have value and who matter. Seeking a safe and peaceful life is not a crime, it is a human right. No human being is illegal.

"Take the time to get to know your neighbours, check in on those who may look or sound different to you. They may be fearful and we need to reassure them they are welcome and valued in Northern Ireland."

Paula Bradshaw MLA added: "The posters and those who put them up do not represent South Belfast, which is a kind, compassionate, and welcoming constituency. There are real issues in terms of housing shortages, but that is not the fault of vulnerable people.

"We urgently need to get back into a functioning Executive and work together to ramp up the building of new homes to ensure all have equal access to housing in Northern Ireland."